Rain bigger threat to holiday than terrorism

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004 | 11:16 a.m.

As Metro Police and FBI agents are preparing for Las Vegas' New Year's Eve celebration, the biggest threat appears to be the chance of rain, authorities said.

The FBI and the Nevada National Guard have no information of any specific terrorist threats against Las Vegas, while Friday's forecast calls for cloudy skies and a chance of rain.

"I don't recall the last time we had rain (on New Year's), but it will be just another thing we have to deal with," Metro Police spokesman Jose Montoya said. "I can't think of any real effect it would have except to possibly send some people inside looking for shelter."

That wouldn't be a bad thing for police, who are expecting crowds in excess of 270,000 to gather on the Las Vegas Strip to celebrate the New Year.

The forecast is calling for the rain to slacken Friday night leaving a partly cloudy sky as a backdrop for the annual fireworks display over the Strip.

Last year's celebration was marked by added security precautions when the national terror alert level increased from an elevated, or yellow alert, to a high, or orange alert, a level it stayed at from Dec. 21 to Jan. 9.

Armed U.S. Customs agents in Blackhawk helicopters patrolled the skies over the Strip as 2003 turned into 2004, and Energy Department officials used sophisticated equipment to search for chemical and biological substances near the tourist corridor.

Friday's celebration has been designated as a "special event" by the federal government, meaning that the extra resources will be available Friday night, but only if needed, said Ellen Knowlton, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office of the FBI.

Also last year the FBI obtained guest records from Strip hotels. The FBI has not made such a request this year, FBI Special Agent Dave Nanz said.

The FBI began staffing an around-the-clock command center Monday to track any problems or intelligence information that becomes available. Members of the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force are stationed at the command center. Authorities won't say where that command center is located.

On Friday Metro Police and Clark County agencies will open a command center at the Clark County Government Center to monitor the celebration.

Adjutant Gen. Giles Vanderhoof, the commander of the Nevada National Guard and state homeland security adviser, will place 500 National Guardsmen at key areas around the state in case they are needed.

"Just as we've done for the past two years we've moved the monthly training for a group of soldiers to the same weekend at New Year's," said 1st Lt. April Conway, a Nevada National Guard spokeswoman. "Their training will be providing security at airports and other locations."

Soldiers will be patrolling McCarran International Airport, North Las Vegas Airport and Henderson Airport and will also be stationed at various locations near the Strip, Conway said.

The Nevada Air Guard will have airmen standing by with two UH-60 Blackhawk medivac helicopters, two OH-58 Kiowa helicopters and two CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters should they be needed. Conway said that the aircraft could make some flights above the Strip Friday night, and that they will be available to assist Metro's helicopter units.

Sgt. Chris Jones, a Metro spokesman, said that most of the department's 2,100 officers will be on duty Friday. Other valley police departments will team up with Metro to handle calls for service, making up for the lost manpower of Metro officers performing crowd control duties on the Strip, authorities said.

Metro will, as usual, rely on metal barricades and officers on horseback to help control the crowds on the Strip. The barricades are used to gradually close the Strip to vehicle traffic as the crowd grows.

Police will also be setting up five 24-foot portable observation towers to help keep an eye on the crowds on the Strip. Last year Metro used two of the towers, borrowed from the U.S. Air Force.

During last year's celebration about 140 people were arrested on the Strip and downtown, mostly for public drunkenness and fighting.